1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunication systems. In particular, the invention is directed to a method and system for the management and implementation of payments made by means of a mobile station.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that electronic payment can be effected in a wireless manner, as for example through the use of a portable computer connected to a mobile station, or a communication link to a bank that is established via an Internet link or a direct modem connection. Payment by means of a mobile station is performed using, for example, a service based on short messages, in which case the mobile station user communicates by means of short messages with a banking application that is connected to the telephone network. A payment application based on short messages especially differs from an application implemented using a computer in that the display of a mobile station is only capable of presenting a limited amount of information. Moreover, the data transfer capacity between a computer and a banking application is considerably higher than in the case of a short message application, so the amount of information to be transmitted does not currently constitute a problem like that encountered in a short message environment. Thus, on a computer display it is possible to implement a user interface in which a number of different ways of effecting a payment transaction are presented for selection by the user.
At this point in time, payment applications that are executed using a mobile station are at an initial stage of their development, and are as a consequence often difficult to use. Heretofore known methods of payment include individual account transfers by means of short messages, charges billed in conjunction with the user's standard telephone bill, prepayments of money to a given account, and so-called intelligent card purses or net purses which are charged in conjunction with a service transaction. For the user, however, there is no handy way to select the method of payment for a particular situation that has arisen based on current circumstances or the user's wishes.